How safe is your team for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender athletes (and coaches!)?  Take this safety quiz for college athletics…  see how you do?!  Use the quiz as a tool to work with college athletic administrators, coaches and student athletes to increase awareness of LGBT issues.

1) Do you hear language or jokes that demean gays (or anyone who is different)?

2) Do coaches or team members use anti-gay slurs to taunt each other, or to encourage better performance?

3) Are gay athletes or coaches expected to keep their sexual orientations secret?

4) Is homosexuality ever discussed seriously on the team?

5) Are athletes encouraged to respect differences?

6) What would be the reaction if someone on your team came out?

7) What would happen if an athlete or coach brought a same-sex date to a team social function, like a party or banquet?

8) How much knowledge do coaches and athletes have about homosexuality?

If your team is like many, it won’t score high on that quiz. So what can be done?

All athletes – gay and straight – can…

1) Stop using anti-gay comments – or anything other words that demean any group of people.

2) Speak out against prejudiced comments made by others – whatever those comments are.

3) Assume that every team includes gay, lesbian or bisexual athletes.

4) Make no assumption about any teammate or coach’s sexual orientation. Judge everyone instead on character and personality.

5) Refuse to be intimidated or “motivated” by anti-gay slurs. Report anti-gay (or other biased) comments – whether from teammates, coaches, opponents or spectators -- to the appropriate person (assistant coach, head coach, athletic director, dean).

6) Encourage your athletic department or coach to schedule workshops or seminars on homophobia, sexism and sexual harassment. This is not a “gay” issue – it’s an issue of treating people fairly and safely.

Coaches can…

1) Stop assuming that all athletes are heterosexual.

2) Monitor their own attitudes and actions; stop behaviors that encourage a hostile atmosphere for gay athletes, or that condone anti-gay actions by team members.

3) Attend workshops

4) Read about homophobia in athletics, and the special issues and concerns of gay youth.

5) Discuss homophobia with athletes, and address anti-gay attitudes and actions by athletes.

6) Be available and prepared to talk with athletes who either question their own sexual orientation, or express homophobic beliefs.

7) Speak out openly against anti-gay actions and policies.

8) (For gay coaches): Be as open as you safely can be; all young people, gay and straight, need positive role models.

Administrators can…

1) Recognize that GLBT people are everywhere. They are athletes, coaches, trainers, sportswriters, bus drivers – everyone who works with any team.

2) Establish nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies that include sexual orientation for all teams; make sure that all athletes and coaches understand what actions are unacceptable, and what procedures will be followed if policies are violated.

3) Ensure that all locker rooms, training rooms, fields and arenas are welcoming places for everyone.

4) Provide mandatory anti-homophobia education and programs for coaches and athletes.

Dan Woog is an openly gay high school soccer coach and author, based in Westport, Conn. His homepage is www.danwoog.com.